Wow, wow and wow! What a read! Gripping from start to end and a very clever plot that keeps you guessing all the way. Tess arrives home from her weekly trip to the graveyard to find a little boy in her kitchen saying that she is his Mummy. She is living apart from her husband after losing their own children. How did Harry get there and where are his family? Tess is accused by the media of abducting him and her life is turned upside down, not helped by the fact that her now ex has a new partner just when she was hoping that they would get back together. As ever Shalini has again found the perfect recipe; Intriguing to keep you guessing, characters that are believable and likeable, a touch of humour, a pinch of romance and short snappy chapters that keep you turning wanting to find out more. I loved this book from start to end and in fact didn’t want it to finish. A brilliantly written story and I very much look forward to the next one.I voluntarily chose to read this ARC and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.
(rest of links on publication day)

Imagine coming home to find a strange child in your kitchen, a child that calls you Mommy. You don't know how the child got into the house and nobody believes you. This is what happened to Tessa. Tessa has a lot that she has to cope with and this happens as she starts coping. I loved the characters and the story line, it gripped me from the start though halfway through I figured out the plot, this however did not stop me from completing the book. Loved Shalini Boland's writing style .

If you are a fan of Psychological Thrillers then you must read this book, it will not disappoint.
Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for the copy.

This book had me gripped. It was full of suspense and intrigue. I didn’t see the twist until it happened and I was drawn to keep reading. Excellent book and I shall be highly recommending it to my book groups and friends! Thank you for the chance to read this !

I enjoyed this book. It had likeable characters and held my attention from the start. Will definitely
read more from this writer.

This is a brilliant psychological thriller which are my favourite genre of book at the moment. You could really relate to the main character Tessa. I was hooked from the first page and you could almost feel the emotions with her. I wanted to keep reading as it was that good but I also didn’t want the book to end!!This is the first book I have read by Shalini Boland but I will look to read some more as I was really impressed.

Another five star winner from this author who never fails to deliver.
Kept me gripped from the very first page and never let go. An absolute must read for any fan of this genre. Wish I could have given it more than just 5 stars!

Tessa Markham comes home to find a little boy in her kitchen. He thinks she’s his mother. But Tessa doesn’t have any children.

Not anymore.

She doesn’t know who the child is or how he got there.

After contacting the police, Tessa comes under suspicion for snatching the boy. She must fight to prove her innocence. But how can she convince everyone she’s not guilty when even those closest to her are questioning the truth? And when Tessa doesn’t even trust herself…

A chilling, unputdownable thriller with a dark twist that will take your breath away and make you wonder if you can ever trust anyone again.

Wow I never expected that! I’m not sure what I did expect, but it definitely wasn’t that.

There is a lot I would like to say about this book but I don’t want to give spoilers. I really, really enjoyed this book. 5*

This is a book I received via NetGalley and completed in exactly one sitting.The first thing to note would probably the fact that the tension in multiple situations was escalated and let to fall a couple of times in that short a time.

The ending reveals itself to you in phases so it does not come as a surprise when all is revealed.This particular reason is why I rated it only four stars instead of five.Despite that I think the tag of 'thriller' is a closer fit than that of a mystery.

The story begins by introducing us to an unbalanced Tessa Markham. How unbalanced she is , is a point for speculation and people around her do just that on multiple times during the course of the story. She comes home to the presence of a small boy in her kitchen, engrossed in drawing something. She immediately makes two phone calls and then then chaos ensues. Her life is turned upside down, her sanity questioned and relationships forged and broken. As mentioned earlier , it is a short book and I was impressed by the (good) amount packed into that space.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers, Bookouture, for this review copy. Also, very pleased to be part of the Blog Tour for this book, and thank you to the publishers for organising this.

Tessa Markham comes home to find a little boy called Harry in her kitchen. He’s not her son, her children have sadly died, and she has never seen him before. Everyone thinks that she has taken him, but if she did, she can’t remember it. She sets about on a mission to prove her innocence, but how can she prove that she didn’t take him when even the people closest to her believed that she did.

I’m not quite sure what to say about this book! Where do I start!! Actually, I can only think of three words – wow, wow, wow! What a fantastic book! The book starts with a bang when Tessa comes home and finds Harry in her kitchen. She’s no idea how he got there or who he belongs to but Harry tells her he’s been sent there by an angel and Tessa is his new mummy. You get caught into this story from page one and believe me, it doesn’t let up throughout the book and keeps you gripped until the very end. You feel very much for the character of Tessa. She’s obviously had a very bad time over the last few years. Her twin daughter died at birth and her twin son died recently from leukaemia. Through these dark times, Tessa’s marriage has broken down and she suffered with depression. Being accused of kidnapping Harry, Tessa has to endure the hounding of the press, with her boss as her only ally.

It’s a book with of heartbreak and sadness mixed with mystery, deceit and intrigue. I disliked Tessa’s ex-husband, Scott, and his new girlfriend even more. If there was one woman who needed to be put in her place, it’s Scott’s girlfriend, Ellie. Whilst, it was obvious where the story was going quite early on in the book, it still shocked me at the end with how it all came about. I certainly wasn’t expecting it to be like that. A great psychological thriller, with a great twist at the end!

I really enjoyed this book and would whole-heartedly recommend it! Fantastic story! Five stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.Tessa Markham comes home to find a boy in her kitchen. He thinks she is her mommy.

The blurb and the cover immediately grabbed my attention. The story is fast-paced and totally engrossing. There were some twists and turns and I was never quite sure what the outcome would be. I do not want to say too much about the plot, the main character dealt with a lot but never gave up her quest to find out the truth. I love books with good strong female leads. This was a great read.

This is the first book from this author that I have read and I am definitely going to read her other books. Thoroughly enjoyed this one and highly recommend it.

This is a compelling novel that starts out with an immediate question that must be solved. Who is Harry and where did he come from? As the book progresses there are more and more questions that need answering but few answers to come by. I liked the way this was written and I enjoyed learning about the main character and the terrible events from her past that brought her to the point she is at when we are introduced to her.

If you love books that suck you in and make you want to keep reading, this one will fit nicely. There were a few times when I had to work to suspend my disbelief, particularly about how the media was camped out on the main character's doorstep, but for the most part I thought this was great. The side characters were interesting and original and the main character did a lot of growing during the course of the book.

I did guess correctly about what happened before the end of the book, but it didn't matter. It was handled so well that I didn't mind not being completely surprised. This is a memorable story with solid characters and I highly recommend it. If you are looking for a good book, you've found it.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

When a book captures you from the very first page and doesn't let go to the very last, you read it in one sitting as you can't put it down and then feel very satisfied when you have finished it then you know it is a special book. This is one of those books!
It is a very well written, fast paced psychological thriller that I totally recommend. I will certainly be buying more books by this author.
5 big shiny stars *****

I received an ARC from NetGalley to read and review. The below is my honest, unbiased opinion. Thank you, Shalini Boland, the publisher, and NetGalley, for allowing me to review.

Tessa Markham comes home to find a little boy in her kitchen. He thinks she’s his mother. But Tessa doesn’t have any children. Not anymore. She doesn’t know who the child is or how he got there. After contacting the police, Tessa comes under suspicion for snatching the boy. She must fight to prove her innocence. But how can she convince everyone she’s not guilty when even those closest to her are questioning the truth? And when Tessa doesn’t even trust herself…

Wow! What a thrilling ride! I quite enjoy psychological thrillers that throw in enough twists to keep me guessing until the very end, but this one took the idea of a curve-ball and brought it to a whole new level. The end was incredible. I've read some fantastic psychological thrillers lately, but THE SECRET MOTHER blew them all out of the water. The characters are superbly developed, and the author manages to take a tired trope (the lost child, etc.) and revamp it into her own driving force. Really, honestly, pick up this one the next time you're in the bookstore.

A book about a woman who lost her babies, then her husband, and then she thought her mind. A child turned up Iin her kitchen, he called her mummy, who was he, how did he get in her kitchen, she was questioned by the police for kidnapping. She knew she never took him, but thought she was loosing her mind. After making many enquiries she worked out who he was, and you could not have. But a good feeling that it worked out well.
Good book, different and could be a true life story.

I really enjoyed this book. Great storyline, wonderful main characters and a very good read. I would recommend this book.

Although The Secret Mother wasn’t much of a secret or a thriller, I still really enjoyed the book. When Tess’ life is turned upside down after a young boy named Harry is found innocently in her kitchen claiming Tess is his new Mommy, things start to spin out of control. Thinking she is doing the right thing Tessa calls her ex husband for help. He does not believe her. The police don’t believe her, everyone except her handsome boss, Ben. As clues begin to show Tess more about who Harry really is, Tess grows and she learns to advocate for herself.

The Secret Mother by Shalini Boland begins with Tess finding a little boy in her kitchen. She doesn’t know the boy or how he even got into her house or why he is calling her mommy.Needless to say, I was hooked from this first scene. I was curious about the boy and had so many questions.

Shalini Boland narrates this story in a way that you can’t help but also become an amateur detective. I was glued to the narrative. I felt the same nervousness that Tessa did and shared in her desperation to find answers. A lot wasn’t adding up and I admit, I liked Tessa but sometimes didn’t trust her. However, I was totally addicted to her narrative. Finding out things when she did, heightened the tension. I couldn’t predict the ending but I had my suspicions about what was going on. Of course, this happened as Tessa also started solving the mystery. We were a team of detectives, Tessa and I and this made me totally hooked to the book.

The author did such a wonderful job with the character development. As I have already explained, I really liked Tessa and sympathized with her. She had had a tough life before the little boy showed up to her house. What happened afterwards was a nightmare that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. I have a few other favorite characters who I won’t mention and there was also a particular couple that I totally disliked. Nevertheless, all the characters were very well-crafted and realistic.

This is the second book that I have read by this author and again, I was totally addicted to her writing style and the story itself. I ended up reading up to to 3am in the morning hence getting through the entire book in just one sitting. As I have already mentioned, Tessa and I needed to find answers. I enjoyed the twists in the book and loved the fact that I couldn’t have predicted them and at some point, everyone was a suspect. This book is brilliant, fast-paced and addictive. I definitely recommend it to all fans of psychological thrillers.

I loved this book! Poor Tessa has been left heartbroken by the death of her twins and the breakdown of her marriage. One day a little boy appears in her kitchen saying that she is his mummy. This leads to Tessa re-examining the last few years of her life to find out the truth.
This book is just so sad at times! I felt so sorry for Tessa, her husband wasn't much help as he left her to deal with her grief alone and the press was constantly harassing, her branding her a child abductor. Even when she tried to get on with her life and immerse herself in her work, people managed to hound her there. As for her journalist neighbour, there was no escape for poor Tessa! I felt that the book dealt very well with the blame culture in our society and the way the media are allowed to harass someone with little comeback available to the individual.
Plenty of twists and turns in this book and quite a few shocks along the way.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Bookouture for the opportunity to read this as an arc.

The Secret Mother by Shalini Boland released 9/11 published by Bookouture

This is the first book by the author not to be self published and so Congratulations for that and even bigger Congratulations for the book being superb.

I read the book via Kindle in 6 hours and the whole of the time the book flowed and kept my interest at 100%

I would describe the book as a psychological thriller with the expected twists and turns and surprises BUT also with heart and humour, which can be lacking in a lot of books, and importantly not beyond the realms of reality, it could be real

I loved the characters and the way you got to know them quickly and effortlessly and after a short time felt you ‘understood’ them.....and their actions ......

A really enjoyable book that requires no effort except to enjoy and allow yourself to be taken along in this really great and exciting book

The ending made me smile and felt 6 hours had been well spent

Definitely recommended read and look forward to reading other work by this talented author

When Tessa still grieving over the death of both of her children, comes home to find a young boy in her kitchen, her whole world is turned upside down. She has no idea who he is or how he got inside her home but her heart of hearts is thrilled to hear him call her Mummy. But soon the questions and accusations begin and the press and police are not buying her story. What really happened? Why can't she find any answers? And why does no one believe her? This excellent psychological thriller will have you staying up all night turning pages.